Category: Film Criticism

Doctor Who by Series | Series 2 – 2006

Anna Bratchford2 Comments

You can spend the rest of your life with me, but I can’t spend the rest of mine with you.
I have to live on. Alone. That’s the curse of the Time Lords.

Tenth Doctor, Doctor Who, S02E03 ‘School Reunion’

Like with Series 1, I think I only watched bits and pieces of Series 2 – either that or my memory is acting up. From what I remember, and from watching Series 2 back, I did really enjoy it but I wasn’t quite hooked yet. (I can assure you, this changed pretty quickly after this).

As David Tennant’s first series as the Doctor, this was a lot of fun! It continues with Rose (Billie Piper) as the Doctor’s companion, and keeps a similar tone. It also features more of Rose’s boyfriend Micky (Noel Clarke) and Jackie (Camille Coduri) Rose’s mum which I loved.

New Doctor’s First Episode: S02E00 ‘The Christmas Invasion’

As a new Doctor Who fan this was the first regeneration I’d watched and so for the most part (as I remember) I was just as confused watching it as both Rose and the Doctor this episode. Once I caught on though, I remember loving it! With my recent rewatch, I really enjoyed this Christmas Special. It was a little mad, a little far-fetched (in the best way possible), and had some great funny parts too. Sword fights on the surface of a space ship in PJs!? Iconic! Ten’s whole speech after he woke up with the steam from the tea was great, and I think the moment he really felt like the Doctor for me.

I think this episode wonderfully introduced David Tennant as the Doctor with just enough humour amongst the high stakes on Christmas Day. It also set a wonderful precedent for Doctor Who’s whacky Christmas Specials (some of my favourite episodes each series).

Favourite Episode: S02E4 ‘The Girl in the Fireplace’

I really loved the concept for this episode – different parts of a woman’s life all accessible through time portals on a spaceship. Plus there’s a horse on said spaceship! I think one of my favourite parts of this episode aside from the plot line is the gorgeous costuming and the music composed for this episode. It is all beautiful, especially when the episode jumps back and forth between the 51st century space-ship and 18th century France.

The clockwork droids were such fun as the ‘alien’ for the episode – they managed to be beautiful and creepy at the same time. I remember not being able to quite get the ticking noise out of my head for days after that first watch. Also the mad logic they were following interesting to figure out.

Scariest Episode: S02E05/06 ‘Rise of the Cyberman’/’The Age of Steel’

Oh man. The Cybermen, as a concept, I think, are amongst the most scary of the Doctor Who adversaries. They are also one of the most heartbreaking. Their twisted ambition to ‘upgrade’ humanity in this episode I remember finding so disturbing, but it made for a really scary and exciting episode.

Additionally with this episode, it introduced the concept of parallel worlds. Which I think is another reason that this two part episode is one of the ones I found scariest this series. I love the concept of parallel worlds, but the slight changes portrayed sent my brain spiralling. It also added to the tension of the two parter. As did the music! I can’t hear the Cybermen theme without getting chills.

Most Emotional Episode: S02E03 ‘School Reunion’

There are a lot of episodes in series 2 that made me emotional, but there was something in this one that really got to me. (My second choice for this category would have been the Series 2 final two episodes, but I write about those separately, so here I am). Looking back, I do find it strange that this episode made me so emotional – and it is a really testament to the actors and how they delivered the episode that I teared up so much. I say this as my first introduction to Doctor Who was in 2005, so I only knew about Sarah-Jane through the odd Classic Who episodes I borrowed from the the Library or DVD rental places.

This episode though, had me crying over a past companion I hadn’t really got to know, and K-9, a tin dog I didn’t realise the significance of until later. There was something so beautiful about seeing a character come back to the show (even though I wasn’t overly familiar). Rewatching it now, I think it is possible I was getting emotional over the history this show holds as much as any of the more emotional lines in the episode.

Series Final: S02E12/13 ‘Army of Ghosts’/’Doomsday’

Well, where do I even start with this series final? It is a stressful and emotional roller coaster of a two part series which never fails to make me cry. At the same time though it is funny, exciting, and has a good mystery/twist to it. I love how tense the episodes are, and how that tensions builds to breaking point near the end of the episode. Especially with such a heart crushing conclusion.

I think my favourite thing about it would have to be the Dalek vs Cyberman stand off at the beginning of the second episode, a humorous break before the emotional roller coaster which is the rest of it. Though in general, having these two big-bads in the the episode really made for an epic final two episodes for this series.

Thank you for reading! I have now finally worked out a schedule for these, and they will be posted fortnightly on the Sunday.

What were your picks for the above? I’d love to know your thoughts!

Doctor Who by Series | Series 1 – 2005

Anna Bratchford2 Comments

The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at sixty-seven thousand miles an hour, and I can feel it. We’re falling through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go? That’s who I am.

Ninth Doctor, Doctor Who, S01E01 ‘Rose’

If I am honest I cannot quite remember If I actually watched all of the first series ‘New Who’ when it aired in 2005 – I was, ironically, 9 years old. Only my Mum had watched a little of ‘Classic Who’ when she was younger. From memory she had enjoyed it but, I am not sure if she was the one who said “here, watch this”, so I am really not sure how I found the show in the first place. Especially in Australia.

What I do know is that I am so grateful I did start watching it – whatever the reason and whenever in 2005 that was. Especially as nearly 17 years later I am still watching the show, and as shown by this writing series, am am (healthily) obsessed.

New Doctor’s First Episode: S01E01 ‘Rose’

‘Rose’, I think, has become one of my favourite episodes. Even if – as mentioned above’ I am not sure if I watched it when it first aired. I do know I watched a lot of Series 1 as it aired though – as you will find out I have vivid memories of some episodes. While I think I didn’t watch this one in particular when it aired, I have definitely watched it a lot since.

I love this as an introduction back into a show that had been running since 1963. The episode introduces a new incarnation of the Doctor with the wonderful Christopher Eccleston (though I wouldn’t be introduced to the emotionally damaging and show prolonging process of regeneration until much later). Eccleston’s Doctor is charming, wonderfully sarcastic, and a little cocky with what I would call a flair for the dramatic. He is also angry, hurt, and emotionally scarred. As titled, this episode also introduces us to Rose (Billie Piper) – the soon to be companion – and the first of the new series to to be taken in by the wonder and charm of the Doctor. As I didn’t really get completely invested in the show until Series 3 (with David Tennant’s 10th Doctor and Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones) I didn’t love Rose as much as others do, but I do appreciate what her character did for the show. She is very much a very normal girl who gets caught up in the crazy of the Doctor’s world. She is a way in for the view, asking the questions, and also keeping the Doctor in check.

The episode itself has a beautiful chaotic energy to it, and I love the humour of it. Watching it again now has me feeling rather nostalgic. Both for the early, simple but impactful story lines, and the the general feel of early 2000’s era Doctor Who.

Favourite Episode: S01E02(3?) ‘The End of the World’

Hands down, ‘The End of the World’ has to be my favourite episode of Series 1 (though I love them all). It is also the one I found most entertaining.

First the episode has the Doctor bring Rose to front row seats to the destruction of her home planet 5 billion years in the future, and then there is the introduction of a whole host of aliens who have paid to see the death of the earth. Including the character Cassandra – the ‘last’ human – only she is a sheet of skin with a face. On the whole the episode is bold, funny, suspenseful and emotional all in one. It also features the best use ever of Britney Spears ‘Toxic’, as a traditional earth ballad, and the soundtrack to the earth’s destruction. You can find this iconic moment here.

The episode throws both Rose and the audience in at the deep end, with the Doctor’s showing off almost having detrimental consequences. Not that this deters her from travelling with him.

Scariest Episode: S01E09/10 ‘The Empty Child’/’The Doctor Dances’

I am not surprised at all that on my rewatch of Series 1, this two episode story was the scariest one for me. Not the ghosts of ‘The Unquiet Dead’ (S01E03) or even my first introduction to the infamous Daleks in ‘Dalek’ (S01E06) – the gas-masked people repeating the haunting cry of “Are you my mummy?” followed me into my nightmares and still (at the age of 26) gives me the creeps.

It doesn’t help that after the episode finished (I can’t remember if it was part 1 or part 2) my Dad decided it would be a good idea while I was still stuck on the couch, to take a glass from the kitchen and walk around the lounge with it over his mouth saying “Are you my mummy?”. As you can imagine, it didn’t help my 9 year old self in the slightest – though there is a chance that Dad did that to try and lighten the mood.

This episode was also a contender for most emotional episode for me, but it won me over for scariest once I had done my rewatch and memories of my first watch of this episode resurfaced. It is a tense episode, with a looming presence that stuck with me for ages after watching it. It also includes on of my favourite dual episode cliff-hanger and resolution pairs. I can’t do the scene justice by describing it so if you haven’t seen it, or just want a memory jog you can find it here.

The second episode of this dual episode story also brings me another of my favourite Ninth Doctor quotes – “You want moves Rose? I’ll give you moves! Everybody lives Rose. Just this once! Everybody lives!”

Most Emotional Episode: S01E ???

For most series, ‘Most Emotional Episode’ will be marked by the amount it made me cry – interestingly, Series 1 doesn’t have one particular emotional episode for me – however I find, especially now, that there are many moments or just lines of dialogue that make me tear up. When I originally watched these at the age of 9 I could say that I hadn’t yet developed the acute emotional tendencies I have when it comes to film and TV but that would be a lie. This only got stronger(?) as I got older, and I am now the type to tear up at an even slightly emotional commercial, or even one that features a dog.

I couldn’t pick a most emotional episode for this series I think because there is an emotional nostalgia to the whole series that gets me at a point in nearly every episode. This is helped along both by the wonderful acting from both Eccleston and Piper, as well as the incredible soundtrack by Murry Gold. There are some pieces of music now that I hear from this series that will have me in tears without the episode itself playing.

Some Doctor Who fans might go up in arms over this, as Episode 8, ‘Father’s Day’ is definitely a high contender for this spot, but I know at the time when I first watched it, the episode didn’t have the same affect on me that it does now. That episode is high up there, but I found other small moments in other episodes in the series to make me more emotional at the time when I first watched them.

Current Doctor’s Last Episode: S01E12/13 ‘Bad Wolf’/’The Parting of the Ways’

Oh gosh, where do I even start with this two episode story? I loved this as a series final for the first ‘New Who’ series. It’s fun, clever, and it’s high stakes in more ways than one. I think having the Daleks as the final villain for Series One was a great decision – especially as the last Dalek seen in ‘New Who’ was a very different Dalek to those we see here.

Oh man, I remember watching this one and being so freaked out by the Daleks, I think it was mostly with them all roaming around and chanting together. Plus with Murray Gold’s music the whole thing is intimating! I really loved the concept for this two part story.

As mentioned above, I am pretty sure this was my first introduction to the concept of regeneration, and oh, was I confused at first! I had no expectation at all that that was going to happen. The lead up to it at the end of the episode was epic though!

Thank you for reading! I should have the Series 2 review up within the next couple of weeks.

What were your picks for the above? I’d love to know your thoughts!

Film Review | Little Women

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LW_Launch_A4poster

As soon as I heard that another film adaptation was being made of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women I was both overjoyed and a little apprehensive. I have loved the novel since I was a teen, and with that much love for a story, a film adaptation will be held within high expectations.

I needn’t have worried.

I left the cinema having gone through an entire packet of tissues, but for me that was inevitable. This adaptation of Little Women was beautiful. I was absolutely enchanted by the scenery and sets, each shot carefully crafted to show the point in Jo’s timeline that we following at the time. In saying this, it took a little while for me to follow the jumps in time, but not enough that it took away from my viewing and understanding of the film.

I was very happy with the casting. The character of Jo is such an important one for me and I think Saoirse Ronan fit perfectly in the role. The same goes for most of the rest of the casting, there was something strange to me about Timothée Chalamet in the role of Laurie. While I think he did do a wonderful job, there was something that I feel didn’t quite work. It felt to me like he gave the character a lot more life for the scenes set back when Laurie and the sisters were all much younger, within the scenes set further into the future there felt as if there was something missing.

I remember realising though, on my walk home from the cinema, that my perception of Chalamet’s Laurie was probably clouded by my love of Jo’s character and the idea of her as a free spirit. I feel like this idea negates my previous points somewhat, so I’ll have to do a re-read of the novel, as well as watch some of the other adaptations again to see whether it might be a different understanding of both Jo and Laurie’s characters to how I previously viewed them. I have a feeling this may have contributed to the way I saw Chalamet’s Laurie*.

My favourite thing about this film (as with other adaptations and the book), is the relationship between the four sisters. As someone with sisters myself, I know the feeling of feeling completely infuriated with them one minute, then loving them the next. It is always wonderful to see, and with the casting of the March sisters for this adaptation the sibling chemistry of both love and rivalry was tangible.

This film’s original score was beautiful. I have been listening to it nearly non-stop since I left the cinema. I can’t comment technically on the music itself, but to me it fit beautifully with the characters and the scenes they were in. It made the film a delight to watch, and really brought a lot to the more emotional scenes of the film.

Overall this adaptation of Little Women was a beautiful film which seemed to have been put together with a lot of care. It had a huge amount of heart, and was a true tribute to a story about family, love, and finding yourself in a world which isn’t quite ready for you yet.

*Watch this space, (if you’re interested that is), I have a feeling I will talk back to this idea in another post.

CC – It (1990)

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It (1990)The Real Adults:
Children and the Power of Friendship

Take any horror film, look at the list of main characters, and ask yourself the question: ‘are they all adults?’. If the answer is ‘yes’ then there are a few guarantees you can readily assume before watching. One, they will make a terrible decision at some point (or maybe more). Two, they are most likely not going to survive the full film, or at least not make it out in out piece. And three, if they have children, they’ll be in one of two parenting categories, overbearing or oblivious. When it comes to children in horror films when they are deemed the target of the evil, they do have much more of a chance of survival: not only do the children use their brains, their instinct is much stronger. In this way in some films you can see the children take on the responsibilities of the adults, and do more than what the adults could do: both survive, and manage to save others too. The 1990 film adaption of Stephen King’s novel It (1986) is one such example where the children become responsible for the fate of their town, and not only do they defeat the monster, but they survive.

It (1990) is also an example of how adults can not only be oblivious to what their children are doing, but also the reason that their children are the targets of the evil in the story. The adults in the film – other than the future selves of the ‘Losers Club’ – are a collection of abusive, overbearing, or absentee parents who continue to turn a blind eye to both the growing number of missing children, as well as doing very little to stop the children doing what they want. This difference in character adds to the already eerie mood of the town, which is elevated by the deaths of many of the town’s children. Just as much as you can’t trust Pennywise, you begin to feel like you can’t trust the adults either. So those that you are meant to be able to trust, and to rely on aren’t what you think, and so the outcast children of the town are brought into the spotlight. In this case, it is the negligence of the parents which leads to the already alienated children becoming Pennywise’s targets. To punish the parents, Pennywise takes the children, but this backfires and it is this group of children who fight back.

The seven children who make up the ‘Losers Club’, and the main characters of the film are a group who not only take action against Pennywise, but also kill it. The control and power which is meant to lie with the adults gets transferred over to a group of children, and they not only take on this power, they utilise it. At the end of the first fight with Pennywise, the children are only able to defeat it as a group. Not only do they do this together, this scene brings them together in a circle. Within this circle the children depend on and look out for each other, thus generating enough power to eventually kill Pennywise. This shows just how much stronger they are together rather than apart. Like the circle of friends, the story also comes to a well rounded close as they defeat the evil before them.

It (1990) presents a group of children who take on the responsibility of the adults to protect both themselves and the other children in the town. It is this though which seals their fate as they are forever stuck in the mindset of their past selves, and so have never really left Derry. In this way, they are yet again the only ones, and now, the only adults who can really do anything about Pennywise. Those who left managed to move on just like the other adults in the town, but all it takes is for one phone call for everything to come flooding back. Who they were as children when they defeated Pennywise is still there, and so as adults, they have the ability to do what others can’t. They can defeat It again.

The members of the ‘Losers Club’ are given the power and responsibilities of adults in their status as outcasts, and they utilise it against their common enemy. They do this not only as children, but for a second time, as adults. Thus, in the film It (1990), the adults of Derry aren’t the real adults, the ‘Losers Club’ are.

 

CC – Lucifer (2016)

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Lucifer (2016)Dance with the Devil

If the Devil came to earth, what would you expect to happen? Here are two options: Option 1, death, destruction, raging fire, and a little bit of punishment; Option 2, Move to L.A., open up a night club, and end up solving crimes with a local detective. You’d expect ‘Option 1’ wouldn’t you? Well, for Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis), after growing bored of his duties in hell, he went for ‘Option 2’, and honestly, as Lucifer puts it kindly, “L.A. is the land of reinvention”, he himself is a prime example. This doesn’t go to mean that ‘Option 1’ is completely out of the question for him. I mean, the Devil and punishment go hand in hand, but never has it been done in such style.

The pilot episode of Lucifer (2016) opens up on a black screen with the song Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked (Cage the Elephant, 2008) overlaying the words:

“In the beginning…the angel Lucifer was cast out of Heaven and condemned to rule Hell for all eternity. Until he decided to take a vacation…” (Lucifer, 2016)

Though a possibly cliched choice of song for the opening of such a television show, the lyrics are apt to what becomes the main drive for protagonist Lucifer Morningstar. Not only that, but the almost playful twang of the guitar and sickeningly smooth lyrics of this song manage to embody the suave character of Lucifer himself before he has even come on screen. This is reinforced as the scene opens up on, a well-dressed man speeding through the streets of L.A. in a shiny black ‘61 Corvette, a character later introduced as Lucifer Morningstar. Sirens soon blare and a smirk lights up the man’s expression, as he is pulled over Lucifer is disturbingly calm, and it is as the policeman pulls him over that things get, well, to put it simply…weird. Lucifer is asked if he knows why he was pulled over, and his response manages to sum up the smooth talking characterisation which makes up the first and most visible layer to his personality.

“Well, obviously you felt the need to exercise your limited powers and punish me for ignoring the speed limit. It’s okay. I understand. I- I like to punish people, too. Or at least I used to.” (Lucifer, 2016)

As the scene plays out, Lucifer proceeds to try and bribe the police officer before prompting him that he breaks the law sometimes too. The strangest thing is though, the policeman answers with an almost glazed look in his eye. This interaction becomes commonplace within the episode, but there is something beautifully comical about a policeman answering that “Sometimes, I put my siren on and drive really fast for no reason at all, just ‘cause I can.” (Lucifer, 2016) plus for me, it was near impossible to get Lucifer’s gleeful smirk from my mind as I watched the rest of the episode.

Something within the episode which could only be seen as minor but really plays a larger part in making this new embodiment of such an overly done character who he is, is through the addition of perfectly timed father related humour. Not only does this reinforce the character of Lucifer as a rebellious child but also embeds him within the L.A. culture as he rejects his father, God, in an almost snarky manor. As well as this, this level of humour is very cleverly played within the overall story of the episode, and manages to defuse moments of tension as they arise. As it is not something over worked, the cleverly written humour within the episode not only adds to the character of Lucifer, it creates him.

As far as pilot episodes go, Lucifer (2016) creates a protagonist that you know from the beginning you are going to hate to love. He is charming, dramatic, playful, and – for some – quite sexy, but his morals (unsurprisingly – he is the Devil, of course) are far from that of an angel, or so you think. As the episode progresses, you are able to peel away the layers of suave charm, bitter sarcasm, and his lofty demeanour to reveal someone rather sensitive, and possibly even kind – even if Lucifer can’t see it himself. This adds a very interesting level of characterisation which not only keeps you guessing but also paints a very different picture of what nearly everyone understands Lucifer to be.